CNBC TV18 Young Turks – Ideas Without Boundaries (Pharma Special)

This week on ‘Young Turks - Ideas Without Boundaries’ we bring you 3 entrepreneurs powering the pharma business in India.

Meet Ajit Kamath, the man who took many a daring steps to success. What started out in 1999 in the business of manufacturing drugs, today after 12 years and 7 acquisitions Arch Pharmalabs is rated among the top 5 API manufacturers in the country. Supplying 200 tones of APIs every month to leading global players like, DSM, Codexis & Ribbon amongst other Indian pharma majors such as Ranbaxy, Dr. Reddy’s and Wockhardt the venture is now looking at going public. First scouted by CNBC-TV18 when we awarded them Emerging India SME Awards winner in 2006 today the venture is worth Rs 1200 cr.

Also meet Suri Venkatachalam of Connexios, a biotech firm that focuses on the discovery and development of proprietary drug molecules. Starting with just 9 researchers and Rs 10 lakh the team of scientists at Connexios has connected the dots to develop strains to treat diseases like Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Obesity and Liver Disorders. Though a nascent business in India, Suri sees drug discovery the next growth driver for the industry. 7 year of intense research and investments of over Rs 50 Cr into the venture today, Connexios is closing in on its first big deal for its composition in diabetes.

And meet Chaitanya Purandare who is betting big on Stem cell therapies with his venture StemOne Biologicals. A cord blood bank storing stem cells from infants when they are born StemOne Biologicals today provides an array of 18 therapies for neurological disorders. The venture today is the custodian of 6000 stem cells donors and has provided treatments to more than 350 patients with its cutting edge technology.